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Friday, July 10, 2009

Movie Review: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen has been out for over two weeks. The reaction to the movie has been interesting. Via a very unscientific poll, it seems that the movie going public generally enjoyed the film but all the critics and media-types hated it. I suppose the reason for this is because this is a movie where you must completely shut your brain off...and critics hate to admit that they ever do that.

In Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, Shia LeBeouf reprises his role as Sam Witwicky. Apparently, Sam is sick of giant transforming robots because he tells his transforming car Bumblebee that he's not going to college with him. (Is it good when your main character is sick of that which is the crux of the film?) Anyway, before leaving Sam comes across a shard of the All Spark (from the first film) which downloads information to his brain. This information contains the key to saving...or destroying...the world. Eventually, this leads to giants robots fighting one another.

I could explain the plot further, but it starts losing a bit of sense...then robot heaven gets involved. Really, the reason to see this movie is for the eye candy. You've got a special effects bonanza with robots battling each other, big explosions, and various structures being destroyed by various weapons of doom. Also, when you say eye candy, Megan Fox certainly comes to mind.

Some battles were spectacular, however, I did feel that they also could get a bit confusing. Sometimes the scene was too close up on the robots as they fought and, since they were scaled to be giant, it was tough to get a feel for what was actually going on. But, in the end, I suppose the best way to review this movie is to say this:

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen is a movie about giant, transforming robots fighting each other.

You now know if you'll like this movie or not.

Recap:The Good: Great special effects. Some fun battles to watch. And Optimus Prime always rocks, no matter what form he's in.

The Bad: No nudity (of course). The battles can get confusing...and long. There's also a lot of comedy, some of it is genuinely funny, but other jokes are childish or just over the top. Also, there's a little thing called a plot that seems to get lost in the shuffle.

The Disappointing: Well, frankly, I always thought that if the Matrix of Leadership is involved, it's mandatory that Stan Bush's The Touch be played.

Drink to best accompany this movie:

Natural Light Beer

Just sit back, relax, crack a beer, and enjoy the rid. Remember, don't try and use your brain or you'll ruin the experience.

4 comments:

I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head. Even though some of the humor (with his mom) was a little over the top, I did so enjoy the Twins! :) They remind me of the pill bugs from A Bug's Life.

Yeah, I'd say Transformers 2 is a movie you can enjoy with your brain off.But there are certainly some movies that are so bad they'd make someone in a brain-dead, coma wake up and gouge their eyes out. Max Payne comes to mind...

The only positive review from a "professional" critic that I've read/heard of is Owen Glieberman from Entertainment Weekly, and he basically said what you said. He equated the movie to the old Godzilla films he watched as a kid, and said watching this took him back to when he watched those, so he enjoyed it.

I also thought the humor was very hit or miss. I didn't like the Twins much at all, and rolled my eyes at all the testicle jokes (which replaced all the pee jokes from the last movie). Not only were they not that funny, but you could see them coming a mile away. And this from someone who has no problem enjoying a good "dick-and-fart" joke.

And yes, the filmmakers missed several perfect opportunities to play "The Touch" and I would listen to Optimus Prime read tax codes.